


O. Hayner's Gift of the Magi

by CryptidGrimnoir137



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Inspired by The Gift of the Magi - O. Henry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-14 04:36:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28789596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CryptidGrimnoir137/pseuds/CryptidGrimnoir137
Summary: Xion struggles to find the perfect gift for Roxas for Christmas.Part of the 2020 Secret Santa for the Rokushi Discord
Relationships: Roxas/Xion (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 7





	O. Hayner's Gift of the Magi

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. It is the property of Square Enix and the Walt Disney Studios. 
> 
> I also do not own The Gift of the Magi, which was written by O. Henry in 1895 and now exists in the public domain. I still do not own it.
> 
> Merry Christmas my dear, dear readers. Here, I give you a small gift, a token of my appreciation for staying with me for this long, long haul. 
> 
> (Yes, I know it's January)

********

In a quiet corner of a sleepy town, a town that was indeed called Twilight Town, there was trouble brewing in a small house. In the small house, a young girl sat crosslegged on her bed, an array of bills and coins of varying sizes and colors strewn out in front of her. She frowned and blew a tuft of black hair out of her face. Beside her, sitting in a chair, nose in a book, was a girl who appeared maybe a year older, idling twirling her own brown braids. 

“Fifty…sixty…seventy…eighty…eighty-nine,” Xion shook her piggy bank one last time, tosee if any more change might fall out. No such luck. The total amount from her piggy bank, plus the change she had found under the sofa, plus the fifty-munny bill she had used as a bookmark came to one thousand, two hundred and eighty-nine munny. That was all she had to buy Roxas a Christmas present. 

Roxas…her best friend…her constant companion. They’d been a part of each other’s lives since very near the beginning. Roxas had only been seven days old when they had first met. But that was a long, long time ago. They’d been through so much since then. Serving the Organization to regain their lost hearts, never realizing they were growing new hearts all the while. And when she, Xion, had lost her Keyblade, Roxas had nobly lent her his own, at great risk to himself. Roxas had been the one to teach her what friendship really was…and it had been him who had saved her life in the Keyblade Graveyard. There was no amount of munny in the world, in all the worlds, to truly repay Roxas for what he had done for her. 

“One thousand, two hundred eighty-nine,” Xion repeated with a sihg. “That’s not nearly enough…what am I going to do?”

“That’s really not so bad,” Olette said kindly, setting down her book. She blinked bright green eyes that shined like emeralds. “A thousand munny would enough for some nice pencils and paper. You could make Roxas something nice.”

“I can’t draw,” Xion ducked her head in embarrassment. “And I cut myself last week and the bandage hasn’t come off yet, so carving him something’s out too. Besides, Naminé is the one who does art for her presents…I’m not Naminé.”

“Naminé’s his twin sister,” Olette argued. “I don’t think it’s wrong to draw Roxas something just because somebody else is…but you’re right about your hand.”

Xion wiggled her fingers uneasily. She’d been cracking walnuts and chestnuts and the nutcracker had jammed. She had tried to force it, and wound up slicing her hand open. It had hurt _terribly_ , but Roxas and Axel had been there to help her. Roxas had held her hand and wiped her tears as Axel put on the bandages. And then he’d read to her from the book she’d been reading—Xion’s fingers had hurt too much to try and turn the pages. Those were just some of the wonderful things about him.

“Listen,” Olette said. “If you need me to give you some munny to make up the difference, I’d be happy to help.”

Olette came from a wealthy family. It wouldn't be much for her to help Xion buy a nice present. But…that would mean the present wasn’t really from Xion, it’d be from Xion _and_ Olette. Or even really from _just_ Olette, if she wound up paying for most of it. And that wouldn’t be fair. Olette was a very good friend, but Xion didn’t want her to pay for things. Ice cream was one thing, but not Christmas gifts. Those were supposed to be special. 

“No…” Xion shook her head slowly. “It’s very sweet of you to offer, but this is something I should do myself.”

Xion slid off her bed, her bare feet pressing against the carpet as she walked towards her closet. She slid her jacket over her shoulders and pushed her feet into her boots. She fumbled with the laces and winced when she irritated the bandages. Her fingers still hurt. But she would have to worry about that later. She needed to find Roxas a Christmas present.

oooo

There were many, _many_ shops in Twilight Town. There were shops that sold books and shops that sold clothing. There was a shop that sold nothing but ice cream—Xion loved it there and the shopkeeper, who liked being called Granny, was one of the nicest people Xion had ever met. There was a place called a _pawn shop_ , where Hayner worked with his parents. There were lots of different things there—a little bit of everything really: golf clubs and antique clocks and figurines and old books.

Xion and Olette walked throughout the crowds as they tried to find a shop that could have the very perfect present to give to Roxas for Christmas. They weren’t having very much luck. 

Action figures? No, that was silly. Roxas didn’t play with action figures—he said it reminded him too much of Keyblade training. Comic books? No, that wasn’t really good either—Pence was the one who liked comic _books._ Roxas liked watching the cartoons on television. Baseball cards? No…Roxas didn’t like baseball. _Think! He’s your best friend. What would be something he would like?_

“Maybe you’re looking at this the wrong way,” Olette suggested as they walked out of a third store empty-handed. “What does Roxas _need_?”

“Most of what we need, we get from Master Yen Sid and Master Ansem,” Xion shook her head. “Or King Mickey. He sends munny every so often.”

“Hmm…well, is there something he has that he’s really proud of?” Olette asked. “I mean, besides his Keyblades.”

“Um…his Struggle sword?” Xion suggested lamely. “I’m not sure…but you might be on to something there.”

“Struggle swords aren’t a bad idea,” Olette said. “The custom ones can get nice. I—oh, Roxas at twelve o’clock!” 

Xion winced and hid her munny pouch behind her back. Roxas was walking towards them now. Oh…Roxas, his smile was so kind, his blue eyes so bright. Xion felt herself blushing. She didn't used to blush when she was around Roxas but she did now. She wasn’t sure she actually minded it. 

“Hi,” Roxas said. “What are you two up to today?”

“I’m taking Xion to see Father Forthill,” Olette said. “I want to see if he can convince her to join the choir. She’s way too good at singing not to join.”

Xion blinks, once, twice. Olette doesn’t lie. Olette’s _terrible_ at lying. Even worse than Xion—she usually giggles whenever she’s caught in a secret or a lie. Olette just saved her from having to explain what they were doing—giving up the surprise in the process—and she’s probably telling the truth about taking Xion to see Father Forthill. 

“Oh…that sounds nice,” Roxas said. He stared hard at Xion and then smiled again. Xion’s heart began beating faster. “So, I was going over to Hayner’s, once he gets off work.”

“Any plans?”

“Not really,” Roxas answered. “Maybe we’ll do a little Grandstander, or we might play some darts.”

_Darts?! That’s it!_

Roxas had a very nice set of darts. Hand-crafted by Moogles, made with fancy metals and ores that he had spent months collecting by fighting Heartless, they were the one thing Roxas had that were the envy of half the kids in their class. Roxas and Hayner usually played darts in the Usual Spot, but they almost always shared Hayner’s cheaper darts and dartboard.

A dartboard! That would be it! That would be a perfect gift to get Roxas for Christmas! A nice, fancy, hand-carved dartboard. That would be just the thing to buy Roxas!

oooo

“Ten thousand?!” Xion blurted. “That’s what it says? Ten thousand?!”

It wasn’t the most expensive dart board in the sporting goods store—there was one that had been reserved by Scrooge McDuck and the tag on that read _Price on Request_. Xion didn’t want to think about how expensive that board would cost. But the one she had found for Roxas was perfect. It was hand-carved out of walnut and oak and stylized to match the clock tower. Tiny etchings along the diameter glowed when the sun hit them just right—the mark that this too had been crafted, at least in part, by Moogles. It would, in short, be absolutely perfect present for Roxas. 

“That’s the price, miss,” The clerk said with a polite nod. His name tag read _Reno_. “Specialty items require specialty prices. Now, if you don’t have the funds to pay for that, then I would suggest you take your business elsewhere. There are other shops in the area that might have what you can afford.”

Xion bit her lip. The dartboard matched Roxas’s darts perfectly. And the clock tower was his favorite place in Twilight Town. The dartboard was way more than she could afford though…unless…

“Could I put some munny down on it now,” Xion asked. “And then come back with the rest later today?”

“Of course,” Reno nodded. “That would definitely be acceptable. Let’s say…one thousand down, thank you.”

Xion’s purse felt very light with only two hundred, eighty-seven munny left inside, but it was worth it. She just need to get home as quickly as she could…and then get the munny to finish paying off the dartboard. Olette had to jog to catch up with her. When she wanted to, Xion could walk very fast.

“How do you think you’re going to raise nine thousand munny?” Olette asked, panting. “You won’t let me help you, but it’ll take you forever to get that just through working odd jobs. There’s not enough time. Christmas is tomorrow!”

“I have…an idea,” Xion said. “But you have to promise not to tell anyone.”

“I’m not doing that until I know what the promise is,” Olette shook her head. “I won’t keep a secret if you end up doing something wrong.”

“It’s not wrong…” Xion said. “But you’re not going to like it very much.”

“What am I not going to like?” Olette asked, a quiver of uncertainty in her voice. “Xion, what are you planning?”

They had made it back to the house Xion lived in with Roxas and Axel. Axel was inside the kitchen, baking gingerbread.

“Hey kiddos,” Axel called. “Get everything you needed for Christmas?”

“Almost Axel,” Xion said, standing up on tiptoe to give Axel a hug. It barely made a difference. He was much, much taller than her. “Just one more little thing and then it’s gonna be perfect!”

Axel chuckled and ruffled Xion’s hair. Xion giggled and squirmed out of his reach before he could grab her with a hand coated with flour.

“Quick, Olette, in here!”

Xion led her friend back to her room. There wasn’t much that was valuable in a material sense. Xion had a few books and a very loved stuffed tiger and very little jewelry. But that didn’t stop Xion from narrowing in on a small wooden box.

“I can sell this,” Xion said. “At the pawn shop Hayner’s family runs.”

Carefully, she pulled out a large jewel, about the size of a walnut, shiny and redder than a strawberry. 

“It’s lovely…” Olette said slowly. “But what it is?”

“A jewel I found on a mission,” Xion said. “Ages ago, in some ruins in Agrabah, right when we first started looking for Sora. I offered to give it back to Aladdin and Jasmine, but they said since it didn’t come from the Cave of Wonders, it was more or less, finders’ keepers. I wanted to sell it to the Moogle way back when, but Axel said I wasn’t getting a proper price for it and made the Moogle give it back to me. I tried wearing it in the necklace Roxas got me, but the jewel’s too big for it. Still…I’m kind of attached to it. This is the first thing I ever got that was really _mine._ ”

Olette stared at Xion and bit her lip. Xion smiled at her. It was so kind of Olette to worry about her, but her mind was made up. She would sell the jewel to Hayner’s family and then use the munny to buy Roxas’s dartboard. 

oooo

It was much later, nearly midnight, when Roxas and Xion exchanged gifts. Xion was trembling as she handed her present to Roxas. It was wrapped in sea-salt blue paper—that she did end up borrowing from Olette. After selling her jewel, she’d had just enough munny to buy Roxas’s present. But it was worth it. He was going to love it, love it, love it!

“Xion…” Roxas whispered as he unwrapped the dartboard. “This…this is…how?”

“I sold my ruby—the one I found in Agrabah, remember?” Xion answered. “But I thought and I thought and I thought, and I knew how much you liked your dart set and I knew that special darts need a special dartboard. Do you like it?” 

Roxas was just staring at the dartboard. He opened his mouth once…twice…but he didn’t say anything. Xion felt her own mouth go dry and her hands went clammy. She…she’d failed.

_He hates it. I’m a terrible gift-giver. I’m so stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Why did I think I could do anything right?_

“Xi…” Roxas said. “I…it’s wonderful…it’s perfect…” 

“But?” Xion asked. “You don’t look happy.”

“You…should open up your present.”

Xion did as she was told, slowly unwrapping the paper. The box she held was smaller than the box that had held Roxas’s dartboard. It was…a jewelry box. With a golden chain and a ring that looked like something could fit into it…something like…

“This is for your ruby,” Roxas said. “I took the measurements on the jewel last week, after you fell asleep when I read to you? That’s what I was doing in town this afternoon.”

“Oh…Roxas,” Xion said. “It’s lovely. Really and truly it is. But I don’t see why that makes you so upset about _your_ present.”

“I sold my darts for it,” Roxas said. “The chain was too expensive, so I sold my darts to pay for it…”

Xion got up from her seat and hugged Roxas. She placed one hand at the back of his neck and the other at his shoulder and hugged him. And then he was hugging her back and it felt so, so wonderful. It didn’t matter that she had sold her jewel and he had sold his darts. He loved her and she loved him. They were best friends…

“GAH!” Axel shouted. “No kissing! There isn’t even any mistletoe!”

Xion felt her face burning and Roxas was turning red too. She hadn’t even realized…they had kissed. She began to giggle.

Gift giving was a funny sort of thing. It was something that hadn’t been part of the first Christmas—Olette and Father Forthill had explained that the Gifts of the Magi had been given on _Epiphany,_ which was technically different than Christmas. But those gifts were of the utmost importance—the gold and frankincense and myrrh. Gifts for a king, for a priest, and for burial…

Roxas wasn’t a king or a priest and he was very much alive. And he was here and he was her best friend…maybe it hadn’t worked out the way she had planned, but maybe the gift she had gotten Roxas was alright after all. Maybe giving gifts in general was something she had worried too much about. She was here with Roxas and Axel. Her two best friends. She had given Roxas a gift and she had gotten a gift—something that she absolutely loved. Maybe, in some small way, she and Roxas and Axel were kind of like the Magi. 

**Author's Note:**

> There you have it, my dearest readers!
> 
> Leave a comment if you're so inclined! I appreciate each and every one of you!


End file.
